Under the fists of steel
I wonder
If we’ll flutter
Like butterflies
Trapped under the steel thumb
Of the man who vowed to save us

Like Pavlov’s dog
Would the butterflies
Grow steel wings
Just so that they could survive?

Under the fists of steel
I wonder
If we’ll cower
Like an apprehended child
Afraid
Of a sin we did not commit

Would it be right
To call blind disobedience
Democracy?

A placebo effect
From our fears and doubts
The butterflies,
Despite the burden
Of the additional weight,
See the steel wings
As a cure

Because instead of
The scream-filled halls
We heard silence,
Ordered by the man
Who dared to say he’d save us,
And called it peace

“You lost me a long time ago,”
That was how you said goodbye
“I tried,” you said, “but it wasn’t the same,”
Of course it wasn’t the same—it could never be the same

And now I’m left to think about
When exactly I had lost you
Because I know I tried so hard
Even though it wasn’t the way it used to be

Of course it wasn’t the same—
How could it be the same?
A person changes in so many ways in just a year
Imagine what seven years would do

Of course it wasn’t the same—
How could you be?
How could I be?
We’ve changed so much in seven years

Of course it wasn’t the same—
But I never would’ve left
Because, unlike you, what you mean to me
Never changed once, in seven years

When people look at you
They see a happy man
As you unabashedly smile
And tell your stories:
People you’ve met
Places you’ve been
Things you’ve seen
Flavors you’ve tasted

You’ve always looked happy
No matter what you’re going through
Your unabashed smile remains

But I see your unabashed smile
And I know that it’s a little shy

I know that—
No matter how big or small—
New experiences still shake you

Though it’s not unabashed
Your eyes light up
When you smile your shy smile

Though not unabashed,
Though not perfect,
You still manage to smile
Your smile that’s still a little shy

And I know that—
No matter what—
You are a happy man, anyway

I guess
I was
too comfortable
with you

I forgot
you were never
really a part
of me,
just another
temporary happiness

I guess
I thought
I’ll always have you,
I’ll always be at home
with you

I forgot
you were never
my home,
just another
temporary escape

I guess
I let
myself believe
in your comforting words
when you told me
I was home

Sometimes we tell ourselves lies
An attempt to reassure ourselves
On those days when nobody else can

And some days we lie to ourselves
Just so we can live
On those days we just can’t otherwise

And after some time we forget
What was real and what was make-believe
And we end up believing
These lies we tell ourselves

The world will shatter your dreams
Step on your hopes
Spit on your hard work
And laugh at your failed attempts

The world will not slow down for you
It will not go easy on you
It will not be patient with you
It will swallow you whole

But don’t be disheartened
Don’t ever stop trying
Don’t let failures faze you
Pick up each broken hope and mend them

For no one ever succeeded without first failing
So, regardless of how many times you fail
Stand up, mend your wounds,
And go after that dream

You promised to give me the stars
On a night we spent admiring them
As they winked at us from above
Like how my heart flutters when I am with you

You promised to give me the sun
On a fine afternoon we spent watching it
As it sets with a spectrum of colors in the sky
Like an artist’s color pallette that wouldn’t even compare to the color you brought into my pallid existence

You promised to give me so much
Yet you failed to realize
That in the midst of all the promises
You forgot to give me the only thing I needed: you